Burbank splashes into extra pool time

McCambridge pool will close Oct. 15, extra time will cost $45,943.

The Burbank City Council on Tuesday officially approved… (Times Community…)

Swimmers at the McCambridge Park pool will have five additional weeks in which to splash around this year as city officials report above-average demand amid a prolonged heat wave.

The Burbank City Council on Tuesday officially approved extending the aquatic season at McCambridge through Oct. 15, five weeks past the original closing date of Sept. 9.

Extending the season will cost $45,943, said Judie Wilke, the city's new director of parks, recreation and community services.

The staffing cost of $29,523 will come from funds set aside for the swim season at Verdugo Park, where the pool has been closed this summer for a major renovation, Wilke said.

The operating and maintenance cost of $14,420 will be covered by carry-over funds from last fiscal year.

Wilke said extending the swim season will generate an additional $6,000.

The pool is a popular place during the summer, with a daily average of 174 swimmers using the pool during open recreation swim times, Wilke said. But during the recent heat wave, that average has risen to 203 swimmers.

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During the City Council meeting Tuesday, Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford said the $7.3-million Verdugo pool renovation project was on schedule to open in April 2013.

A new 50-meter pool and a second pool with a slide, as well as a new bath house with updated locker rooms, are part of the project.

The old pool and bath house have been demolished, Teaford said, and prep work for the replacement facility and new pools is underway.

During the work on Tuesday, crews discovered a patch of saturated soil that indicated a leak from the old pool, Teaford reported.

“We always wondered where that water went,” she said.

For more information about recreation swim times and swimming classes, call (818) 238-5330, or visit the aquatics page on the city's website, www.burbankca.gov